Half Of UK Homes Will Be Digital By 2005
By the end of 2005 half of all UK households will have Digital TV (DTV) and more people will use interactive TV to connect to the internet than PC’s, according to the latest report from Jupiter MMXI.
The report shows that of the current 7m homes that have DTV 20% use email regularly, almost one third of BSkyB’s subscribers have registered for email accounts and 20% of Telewest customers use email via DTV. Jupiter predicts this figure will increase significantly over the next three years.
UK analyst, Daniel Stevenson, said: “The popularity of email on interactive TV has been unexpected. As the number of DTV subscribers grows, a significant proportion of the UK population will experience the internet for the first time through their TV sets. The number of people connected to the internet will dramatically increase from the 15.2m at home users currently accessing the internet from a PC.”
Jupiter predicts that penetration of digital TV will outstrip home PC’s with internet access, but it is expected that the value of purchases made on the internet through a PC will far outstrip those made on interactive TV. By 2005, £25.5bn will be generated through advertising and commerce activities on PC’s connected to the internet, compared to £3.2bn on interactive TV, says the report.
The main reason for this difference will be due to consumers purchasing higher cost items like holidays, cars and electronics via their PCs as they continue to use the internet to research and make higher value purchases. Lower cost impulse purchases for items like CD’s and takeaways, are expected to prove big sellers through interactive TV. Whilst less revenue will be generated from internet commerce on interactive TV than through the PC, DTV companies should have larger income from traditional advertising, subscriptions and per per view programmes.
Stevenson added: “Companies need to realise an internet strategy is no longer just about the web on a PC. Consumers will be using the internet through a variety of channels, including the TV. The internet customer will increasingly be looking for a trusted brand as their choice, whatever channel they choose.”
Jupiter MMXI: 020 7563 1606 www.jupitermmxi.com
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